Fragile Soul
by Meneil
Summary: Based on a GS dream. Isaac, Felix, Mia, and Garet are in search of a valuable treasure. It lies within their grasp, and they can obtain it... but at what cost? oneshot


Quick A/N: This was a GS dream I had. I really only wanted to record it, but heck, since it's technically a GS story, I'll put it up. Despite being a dream, the story flows pretty smoothly. There are a few kind of random parts that don't make a ton of sense, but um… Well it was a dream, so yeah.

Oh and uh… I broke my tradition. I wrote in third person! Wooow it's a miracle. I also didn't write this completely seriously, so if you see someone SHOUTING IN ALL CAPS I know that's not proper. Also things like double or triple exclamations and whatnot. Not overused, but used, cause I wanted to in this story. :D

Oh yeah, as safety measure… ((points to tragedy category)). Now that that's settled, onto the story! That wasn't really a quick A/N at all was it… bah oh well.

Fragile Soul

The full moon hung tentatively in the sky, hidden beneath dark clouds. Lightning flashed suddenly; thunder rumbled slowly. Wind howled in outrage; rain poured in mourning…

Two towers stood suspended amidst the storm. Each stone was pure darkness. They mockingly stood in the midst of the sea, their foundation firm to defy all nature. Twin bridges bound the towers; their vow to remain eternally connected. One bridge lay across the towers' highest peak, while the other lay across the low valley. It was barely visible amidst the rolling waves.

A Lemurian ship had docked beside a tower's massive gate.

People had arrived in the Towers of Darkness.

Isaac, Felix, Garet, and Mia: these were the names of the ones chosen to witness the Towers' true atrocities. They were mere humans, but nothing was spared from the wicked towers' hearts. First the towers lured them in, allowing the Adepts to sense the great quantity of psy shards.

After alchemy's release on Weyard, monsters became much stronger. Their rough skin and scales could not be pierced by any weapon. Psynergy was the only effective weapon upon these beasts. While Adepts were not greatly effected by this change, the common people began dying in great numbers.

Psy shards, the shattered remains of psy stones, were the common folk's only salvation. These shards possessed a single psynergy imbued in it. So for example, a Venus Adept could use Wind Slash. Non-Adepts would also be able to use the same power. However, after a shard was used, it lost its power and broke into nothingness. Since people needed them for survival, the shards were as precious as water, and used up quickly. It was suicide to go outside without them. Not only did monsters roam the earth, but anything with psynergy could sense the location of psy shards. Both monsters and Adepts were drawn inexplicably to the shards' power. Adepts were depended upon to bring back the shards.

Isaac, Felix, Garet, and Mia had volunteered to search for the shards. It was a noble quest, as they were prepared to give the shards freely to those without psynergy. Now they had come to the Towers of Darkness.

* * *

The interior was huge! Though the tower seemed impressive on the outside, it couldn't compare to its awesome inside. The four travelers inside were nothing but tiny ants amongst giants.

Isaac seriously doubted that normal humans had built the tower. Everything had been made to fit a Titan. The entrances were more than ten times his height. A suit of pure dark armor towered above from the Adepts.

A monstrous sword forged from silver rested in the armor's hands, the beautiful but deadly sword's edge resting on the ground. The hollow knight gripped a gargantuan mace in its left hand, the chain partially wrapped across its arm, while the remaining metal drooped across the floor. The thickest layer of dust encased the beautiful armor, refusing it to glimmer.

But what creature could possibly use such immense armor? Isaac couldn't help but wonder. Could the creators of the tower been part of an ancient civilization...?

The sound of dripping water could be heard, as rain's tears found a crack in the mighty tower's defenses. Each drop landed upon the first level, and by now a small puddle had formed.

Stairs lead windingly to the top of the tower. Each step was far too large to step over. If the Adepts wanted to reach the top, they would have to climb over each step individually. However, at the moment, they were content with its lowest floor.

Each one of the four Adepts had separated into a different section of the tower. The place was huge, yet it was furnished with nothing save the armor. Isaac received a horrible sense that something evil lay sleeping within this tower. Maybe it would be better if they didn't accidentally wake it up...

Every footstep Isaac took provoked a cloud of dust to rise. His hand scraped the side of the tower's wall, only to have his glove come back full of dust.

Meanwhile, Mia searched unsuccessfully on the opposite side of Isaac. She hated all the dust and dirt. If only all the rain could enter to wash away the tower's impurities... At least she was with her friends. If only Ivan was with them instead of Felix, it would have been a like a quest in the old days.

Garet stared at the towering armor, tempted to touch the great suit. Perhaps the psy shards he sensed lay within the black knight's shell? He wanted to finish this quest as quickly as possible. Frankly, he couldn't care less about who built this tower or for what purpose.

Felix squatted at the tower's center, his hand rubbing the dust away. Something gritty entered his hands, and he squinted to make out what it was. As his fingers crumbled the black rock, he let the dust fall back to the earth. "Charcoal..." He said softly, but the other three's attention immediately turned to the Earth Adept. "There's a ring of charcoal around here," he explained, his hand disturbing more dust as he rubbed the floor.

"A ring of charcoal?" Isaac repeated, watching Felix search. "Why would there be a-"

"There was a fire here a long time ago," Felix explained, cutting off his friend. "A controlled fire. Someone made sure it didn't go out of these lines."

"But... inside a tower?" Mia asked, confused. "It seems like an odd place for a fire."

Garet shrugged, not really amazed by the discovery of charcoal. "Well it is freezing in here. Maybe someone got cold?"

A glitter caught Felix's eye, and immediately his hand reached to pick it up. As the charcoal fell away, what remained became obvious to the quartet.

"Psy shards," Mia breathed, in awe and partial relief.

Immediately all the companions set about searching the ring of charcoal. Soon exclamations could be heard, as more psy shards were found. Once the search was over, Felix gathered all the crystal pieces into the center of the ring.

Isaac had been impressed by the amount of shards collected. It was a good sum; enough for about twenty uses or so. Most of them were wind shards, containing the psynergy Wind Slash. Since there were no Jupiter Adepts with the group, Isaac was pleased to have balanced their team out. Although, since they were saving them for other people, Isaac planned to only use them in emergencies.

This tower had yielded enough power keep an entire town for a month or so… However, Isaac could sense more psy shards above them.

Lots of psy shards.

Enough to keep Vault, Kalay, Bilibin, Imil, and Xian combined for at least twenty years. In fact, the psy shards' power seemed so great, that Isaac began to wonder if he was truly sensing psy shards… Maybe it would be better for the group to quit while they were ahead. There was no telling what lay beyond.

Garet poked through the pile of psy shards, a wide smile across his face. "Look at all of this! This is perfect." He turned to Isaac and Felix, the two unanimous leaders of the group. "Hey, can I be in charge of these ones? I'll distribute them among us. Just in case we need extra power, you know?"

Felix shrugged, not really caring. For some reason he and Garet couldn't use psy shards consecutive times in battle. Mia and Isaac were the only ones who could maximize their power. The dark haired Venus Adept lost interest when he discovered that he could only use a limited amount of the shards.

Isaac unconsciously winced at the thought of Garet handling psy shards. While he loved his friend, there were just some aspects that Garet lacked. Such as intelligence. Not to say he was dumb, just that… Well, sometimes his thoughts were elsewhere. He'd probably distribute the psy shards poorly. Maybe it would be better for someone else to handle the job…

"I don't know, Garet," Isaac began, doubtful of his friend's capabilities.

"Please," Garet begged his best friend, knowing his thoughts. His smile had vanished when he heard Isaac's mistrust. "I swear I'll do a good job. Trust me; you won't regret it!"

When Isaac looked into his friend's face, he knew how badly Garet wanted this job. In a way, Garet wanted to show Isaac that he could handle things by himself. Well… Garet would feel pretty horrible if Isaac refused. Although it went against Isaac's judgement, he nodded his head. "Alright. We're counting on you then."

"Ok!" Garet beamed, grabbing the entire pile of psy shards. "Here Isaac, take these," he shoved a few psy shards in his friend's direction.

Isaac took them, not even bothering to look which crystals he had. His attention had turned towards a puddle on the tower's floor. It had increased its size dramatically since they had entered. Each small drip seemed to echo and re-echo throughout the tower. Vaguely, Isaac could hear Garet's voice as he gave the shards to Mia and Felix. Everything seemed to fade except the sound of dripping water. Its lulling and monotonous song was enough to make Isaac fall asleep. As Isaac's eyes became heavy, he heard someone call out his name, but he was too tired to care. Right before Isaac closed his eyes to sleep…

Something in the water moved.

Immediately Isaac forced himself to awaken. His eyes and mind snapped clear. Beside him, Mia kept calling his name. Garet and Felix were staring. But the puddle of water… It stirred. It rose from the ground slowly, possessing life of its own.

His friends' attention shifted to the puddle. Everyone gasped in surprise. The water had formed itself into a human shape, yet without human details. Layers of steel slowly began to enclose its body, until it became nothing save a shell of armor. A lance vaporized in its hand, and the being seemed to turn its attention towards the Adepts.

"Lookout!" Felix commanded, as he drew out his sword. Immediately everyone followed his lead, and unsheathed their weapons.

Forgetting that monsters were now immune to regular attacks, Garet charged at the Living Armor. His sword sliced through the monster, but it was like cutting through water. It lost its shape only for a second, before reforming. The monster raised its lance in retaliation, prepared to cleave Garet, who was definitely not immune to weapon attacks.

"Ice Missile!" Mia cried out, and the psynergy stabbed through the monster.

"Odyssey!" Both Venus Adepts called simultaneously. Psynergetic swords appeared to pierce their foe.

The results left the Living Armor impaled on both icicle needles and psynergy swords. For a second, it seemed as though the monster was prepared to collapse. Everyone waited for the inevitable outcome.

But the monster never collapsed. Instead, it absorbed the psynergy. The holes within its water body simply filled back with water. All the Adepts became much more serious.

"Psynergy and regular attacks won't work!" Mia pointed out the obvious, too distraught to realize everyone already knew.

"We still haven't tried any wind psynergy yet," Felix said calmly, his hand reaching to a psy shard. When he found what he was looking for, he gripped tightly. "Wind Slash!"

Wave upon wave of Jupiter psynergy washed across the monster. An unearthly wail escaped the cursed creature. Once the wind died down, the cuts from Felix's attack became apparent. Water had not rushed to fill in the gaps, either.

"Yes!" Mia cheered. Her hand reached into her pack to find wind shards.

The monster had begun moving towards them, but it was moving quite slowly. Garet also would dodge around the Living Armor, poking it with his sword. While it didn't hurt the creature, it had become thoroughly annoyed, and kept trying to slice Garet.

"I don't think I have any wind crystals," Mia frowned, as she continued to search her sack.

Isaac glanced at the few crystal shards in his hand. He poked around them, a slow anger rising through him. "Me neither," the Earth Adept informed them. Garet had screwed up! Most of the shards had contained wind psynergy, but he hadn't given any to Isaac or Mia. How stupid! Felix and Garet couldn't use a ton of psy shards at once!

Felix shook his head slowly. "Strange… I have many. Why don't you guys take some of mine?" He tossed two to Isaac, and another two at Mia.

Immediately the two caught the flying shards. As soon as it was in their hands, they used Wind Slash simultaneously. The furious torrents of wind cut the Living Armor, until only a few splashes of water remained on the floor.

"Garet!" Isaac snarled, storming towards his best friend.

The Fire Adept was squatting on the stone, poking at the remains of the Living Armor with his sword. "I think it's dead…" Garet informed them. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Isaac, and rose to greet him. "What is it?" He wondered, thoroughly confused at Isaac's anger.

"You idiot! What the heck were you thinking!" Isaac exploded. "More than half of my crystals were earth! Why would I need Venus psynergy? I AM A VENUS ADEPT!"

Something inside Garet snapped. He _hated _it when people called him an idiot or moron, or laughed because they thought he was dumb. No one knew this better than Isaac! Was he purposely trying to make Garet angry?

"Well I thought maybe you'd need some extra if you got tapped!" Garet shouted back, glaring at his 'best' friend. "Besides, the crystals are more powerful on the Adept of the same element!"

"So you gave a ton of crystal shards to Felix? You must have a lot, too, cause me and Mia didn't have many!" Isaac's voice escalated.

"Well sooorry!" Garet also raised his volume. By now the two were shouting so loud, that the entire tower echoed with their argument. "Maybe I thought it was a good time for Felix and me to learn how to use more psy crystals!"

"Stop it, both of you," Mia blinked away tears, completely shocked at her companions' actions. Her voice was far too quiet, though, and neither Isaac or Garet paid attention. The two continued to yell, and Mia shook her head in worry. "What's wrong with them, Felix?" She asked, turning to the Earth Adept. "I've never seen them act this way. And it doesn't seem like such a terrible problem…"

Felix closed his eyes, trying to shut out the shouts and excess noise. He tried to clear his mind, but it was tough. Would Garet and Isaac just be quiet for a minute! Wait a second… That didn't seem like something that he would normally think. He opened his eyes and turned back to Mia. "I'm starting to think there's some other power here… I don't exactly feel like myself, either."

"Yes," Mia agreed, sighing as she tried to calm herself. "It feels like there is something evil that hangs over all of us. It's as if something bad will befall us… Some evilness watches and waits for our weaknesses."

Felix nodded his head, still watching Isaac and Garet. The two were still arguing fiercely. Isaac shoved Garet back a few paces. The Fire Adept glared murderously, and raised his fist, as if to punch his best friend.

"Alright, that's enough!" Felix interrupted them, walking between his two companions. He glanced between Isaac and Garet. "You two kids go off and fight some other time. Right now we're here for the psy shards, not to beat each other up over them."

"Who made you the mediator?" Garet snapped. His eyes locked with Felix's, and suddenly he realized how childish he was acting. Unable to hold the gaze, his eyes fell to the floor. Sulking slightly, but knowing Felix was right, Garet muttered a single word.

"Sorry."

Isaac seemed to calm down slightly as well. "Yeah, sorry, Garet," he apologized.

"I apologizing to Felix," Garet stared levelly at Isaac.

Isaac stared right back, his anger beginning to rise slowly again. Still, for Felix and Mia's sake, he didn't retaliate.

Felix sighed, wondering how he had gotten stuck in such a situation. "Well, anyway, let's keep looking for more shards. Think there's any more around here?"

"There's a ton," Isaac said, right as Mia replied "there's still many more."

"Well then," Felix nodded his head. "This place seems pretty dangerous, and there's likely to be tougher monsters ahead if there's more shards. Are you sure we should continue? It might be better if we just left." He waited for his friends' opinions, though he had a good idea what they would say. Still, it was best for everyone to possess the same mind. Double checking never hurt.

"We might as well keep going," Isaac tried to shrug of his anger at Garet and unease of the tower.

"The psy shards are very close," Mia nodded her head. "Let's just look around a little longer."

"I don't really care," Garet shrugged moodily.

"Alright," Felix folded his arms across his chest, eying each one of his companions. "Let's search down here for a while. If we don't find anything, we'll try going upstairs."

"Upstairs…" Mia moaned quietly, unable to keep her eyes wandering to the gigantic steps. That was sure to be a workout.

The Adepts split up again, though each remained reasonably close together. Mia and Felix explored the base of the giant steps. Each step was so big that they had to climb each one. The staircase stretched far, but there seemed to be some door at the top. Like the gate the Adepts had entered, the door matched the colossal size of the stairs. Something big once had lived within the tower…

Garet knew Isaac was watching him closely. It was hard to ignore his friend's piercing gaze, but the Fire Adept tried to shrug it away. The giant, pure black armor caught Garet's curiosity. Its presence radiated power. This was definitely the symbol of the twin towers' greatness. Garet was nothing but an insect compared to the colossus. The Mars Adept was as tall as the behemoth's foot!

A sudden urge to touch the armor possessed Garet. He raised his fist tentatively at first, but finally knocked on the armor twice. The resounding _thunk, thunk _caused everyone to jump slightly. Its armor was hollow.

Suddenly growing apprehensive, Garet turned away from the spectacle. His only thought was to remain with Felix and Mia. Before he reached them, though, his eyes locked for Isaac's for a second.

Isaac was still angry.

After seeing his friend get scared of a mere armor shell, Isaac decided to check it out for himself. His heart screamed at him to stay away, but his pride willed him to move forward. When Isaac stood before the dark armor, his hand reached out to touch the plate mail. He hesitated only for a second, before placing his hand on the armor.

The armor was cold and smooth beneath his touch. A fell wind blew across the armor and Isaac. It ruffled his hair and scarf, yet the wind seemed only to touch Isaac. It softly wailed out its requiem, quietly mourning events that had not yet passed. But most chilling of all, it sang about _Isaac_. He couldn't understand the wind's words, but he recognized his name.

Then the wind died… put to rest by unseen forces. Reluctantly Isaac turned away, knowing his friends would never understand what he had just experienced.

The sound of metal clanking upon metal reached the Adepts' ears. Isaac turned around slowly, a lump forming in his while his heart pounded. There was only one thing behind him… the Dark Knight.

The Titan of Plate Mail had come alive. Ages of dust fell as the armor moved. Its silver sword left the ground as the knight tested its weight. The knight readjusted the mace, before wrapping the metal chain more securely around his left hand. Then it looked at the ground, wondering who had awakened it.

First its eyes fell upon Felix, Mia, and Garet near the stairwell. Unable to grasp reality, they stared at the giant. Ignoring the three, the Black Knight cast its gaze upon Isaac. Instantly the monster knew that this was the one responsible for disturbing his rest. Its foot took a single step forward, and the entire tower seemed to tremble with its weight.

Suddenly Felix snapped out of his stupor. "Run for it!" He yelled at his companions. "This thing is beyond our power!" His voice induced the other Adepts out of their shock.

The Lemurian ship was docked near the tower's gate entrance. However, the Dark Knight stood far too close to the gate. None of the Adepts even considered going through the living armor. That only left one place for them to go… up.

Up the winding stairs, and into the unknown. Anything had to be better than facing the Dark Knight.

Felix, Garet, and Mia began climbing the stairs as quickly as possible. They were so large that each one had to be scaled individually. The stones were rough. Mia wished she had brought gloves like her companions, for every time she grabbed the next stair, her hands were cut. When Felix noticed her hands bleeding, he began to help pull her up each time.

Meanwhile Isaac had to run with all his might to reach the staircase. The knight behind him took slow steps forward, as if to mock his prey. While the Black Knight moved slowly, each step covered so much ground that it took Isaac's top speed to keep his distance.

Isaac's friends had reached the fifth step by the time Isaac had reached the first. Although he scrambled as fast as he could, the Dark Knight was simply too big. He was catching up to Isaac. The Venus Adept knew it was only a matter of time. In desperation, he looked back to see how close the knight had come. Isaac's eyes widened as the Dark Knight swung its mace towards him. Isaac barely tumbled out of the way. The mace tore the rock stair, only a fraction away from where Isaac had stood a moment before. Fragments of the broken slate flew in the air. Isaac had to cover his face to avoid being stabbed in the eye.

Once the rain of rocks had subsided, Isaac whipped around to face the knight. Within the Venus Adept's hand lay a wind shard, which he used to cast Wind Slash. The Jupiter psynergy pushed against the knight's coat, but found no weakness within its defense. Still, the powerful psynergy waves managed to halt the Black knight's approach for a few seconds, and even managed to slide it down a single step. Taking the initiative, Isaac quickly continued up the steps.

His friends had already reached the top. Felix and Garet had gone on ahead, but Mia watched Isaac struggle. "Please hurry, Isaac," she whispered, too quiet for anyone to hear. "I know you can make it." Unable to watch Isaac suffer any longer, Mia turned away, and ran out the giant archway.

The breath caught within Isaac's throat as he panted. His clothes were coated with fine slate grains; his gloves were torn with many holes. But he'd made it to the top of the tower. The gigantic entrance lay before him, and without any thought, he rushed forward. His only goal was to flee from the Black Knight.

Isaac willed his feet to continue forward. They pounded across the stone floor and past the archway. He found himself outside, high atop the tower's bridge. The wind screeched in outrage, and the rain pelted upon the poor Venus Adept until his spiked hair lay flat across his head.

He panted slightly, running across the bridge. Fear remained in his throat while his heart pounded within his ears. He thought he would surely die of a heart attack. Still, Isaac only drove himself further across the bridge.

When he was halfway across, the Dark Knight appeared within the arch. It took slow steps, but it was catching up to Isaac quickly. Isaac's friends stood a distance before him, on the opposite tower. Behind them lay a giant psy crystal, which had been elevated upon a rock stand. Millions of psy shards lay below the psy stone.

"Come on Isaac, you can make it!" Mia cheered her leader on, though she watched in pure fear.

"Go go go go go!" Garet called out, forgetting his anger in worry.

Felix didn't say anything at all, but remained completely grim, simply watching as Isaac pushed himself to the maximum. The knight was catching up, and it would be a close race.

Isaac vaguely heard his friends' voices. His body was in excruciating pain, but he couldn't stop now. His body was tired. The stone underneath his feet was smooth and slick. _Hope I don't trip…_ Isaac thought, and even as he did so, the bridge cruelly twisted beneath him. Unable to stop himself, the Venus Adept was sent sprawling forward…

The Dark Knight had its attention fixed upon Isaac. As soon as he began to fall, the soulless armor swung its mace above its helm, before sending it flying towards the fallen Isaac…

But Isaac had made it incredibly close to his friends. Felix leapt on top of Isaac, before yanking him backwards. The two Venus Adepts tumbled backwards, off of the bridge and onto the tower's top. Garet and Mia stepped forward to protect the Earth Adepts, before pelting the evil knight with a torrent of psynergy.

"Ice Missile!" Mia's attack harmlessly bounced off the Dark Knight's armor, but it did stop the monster's advancement.

"Inferno!" Fireballs raced from Garet. In his haste his aim was poor. Instead of the attack concentrating on the Black Knight, the fireballs blasted everything before him. One of the fireballs hit the mace. The mace's spiked end flew off of its pole, crashing off the bridge, and landing in the ocean far beneath them. All that remained of the mace was the metal pole the spiked ball had been attached to, and the metal chain. While no longer one-hit lethal, it was still a weapon that could damage the Adepts.

The knight pulled the chain back, wrapping it across his arm again in case he needed its use. For a second, its attention seemed to be on Garet and Mia. However, it inevitably drifted towards Isaac. Felix and Isaac were managing to extract themselves off of each other. The Black Knight was only concerned about the blond.

Completely ignoring Mia's and Garet's furious psynergy attacks, the knight began walking towards the tower. Its helm always faced Isaac.

"Odyssey!" Felix's psynergetic sword bounced harmlessly off of the armor.

"What are we going to do?" Mia panicked, backing away as the foe continued to approach. "Nothing's hurting it!"

Garet and Mia were forced to back up onto the tower. The walking armor was only a few feet away from the group. Felix gritted his teeth, not knowing how to answer Mia.

Isaac pushed way through Mia and Garet. "Stand back!" He commanded them. "Gaia!" He shouted, his hands lifting forward, as if willing the earth forward. But there was no earth. They were in the middle of the ocean. Instead, Isaac focused his energy upon the edge of the bridge before him. The black stones flew into the air, creating a hole before the knight. Behind the Dark Knight, the bridge sagged and crumbled underneath the terrific weight. The Black Knight, along with the bridge, fell from the Adepts' sight.

All of the Adepts were dead silent for a second. Finally reality sunk in: they had defeated the Dark Knight! Mia's legs gave in, and she collapsed on her knees upon the wet stone. Her eyes rose to Isaac's crystal blue. "I was really worried! I was so afraid you would die, Isaac." The Mercury Adept blinked back a few relieved tears.

Garet wiped his brow with his hand, muttering a quick "whew!" in disbelief. "Well I doubt that armor thing can swim!" He laughed slightly.

Felix turned to Isaac, a small half smile just barely touching his face. "That was a little too close," he told his friend.

Isaac turned to face Felix as well, his back to the sea where the knight had fallen. It still didn't feel like the battle was really over. He smiled; glad to be with his friends. Isaac opened his mouth to express his gratitude…

A chain whipped across Isaac's body, the metal pole painfully wrapping across Isaac's chest. A yelp of surprise escaped Isaac, before he was dragged over the tower's edge.

"Isaac!" Garet and Mia screamed at the same time. Immediately all three Adepts faces of relief turned into horror. Isaac had been whisked away from them before they even had a chance to react.

The three remaining Adepts rushed to the tower's edge, unable to believe what was happening. The Dark Knight was still alive! He had been saved from the ocean's fury. A second bridge lay directly underneath the first one. The soulless plate mail had landed on the wind and water swept second bridge. Rubble from the crumbled bridge was scattered about him. When it had regained his footing after falling, the Black Knight had sent the mace's chain after Isaac. And he had caught Isaac.

Isaac fell… shouting in surprise and confusion. The three Adepts were helpless onlookers, unable to save Isaac from his fate. Felix's mind raced, searching for any possible solution to save Isaac.

_He can still live,_ the revelation hit Felix. _If he hits the ground from where he fell, he'll be badly hurt, but it won't kill him._

Even as Felix thought this, the Dark Knight raised its silver sword, directly in the path of Isaac's fall.

There was nothing anyone could do. Isaac was impaled upon the soulless knight's sword.

A small gasp escaped Isaac. As quickly as the pain came, it faded away. The black skies hid most of Isaac's blood, and the blade didn't glitter in the moonlight. Thunder rumbled slowly in the distance.

Garet and Mia watched in dumbstruck horror, their jaws hanging slightly. Their dream victory had become their nightmare defeat. Felix jerked slightly forward, gasping softly just once, his eyes searching the scene before him.

Isaac couldn't be dead… Isaac couldn't die…

The Dark Knight dispassionately raised its sword horizontally, so that it was level with its shoulder. Isaac's breath had stopped; he was dead. The Dark Knight gripped its sword tightly, before whipping it forcefully in a long stroke. Isaac's body was sent flying in the air for a long distance, before falling into the ocean's waves.

The small splash made the nightmare a reality to the Adepts. Garet's hands clenched so hard that they broke through his gloves and drew blood. A yell of anger, rage, and despair ripped through Garet's throat. He had never gotten the chance to forgive Isaac before he…

Mia's two hands gripped her hair, pulling long strands out of her perfect ponytail. Her body arched backwards as the most horrendous, heart-breaking human wail escaped her mouth. She and Garet screamed at precisely the same time, their cries filling the night sky for miles.

Felix's face had contorted itself into mourning and anger. Not a sound found its way to him. He blinked back hot tears, the figure of the Dark Knight still before him.

Felix unsheathed his sword, mind clouded by emotions. Mia and Garet finally stopped their shrieks, their eyes beginning to stream water instead. They followed Felix's example, each drawing their respective weapons: Garet his sword, and Mia her staff. Without a single word, they all jumped down upon Isaac's murderer. Their bodies glowed with psynergy, as they prepared to fight with full strength, and without quarter…

The full moon hung tentatively in the sky, hidden beneath dark clouds. Lightning flashed suddenly; thunder rumbled slowly. Wind howled in outrage; rain poured in mourning…

* * *

A/N: Well guys…

Isaac: You've finally done it, Meneil. You've killed me in one of your fan fictions. I'm actually surprised this didn't happen earlier.

What the? I don't-

Isaac: -have muses. You've said that every time I appear.

… Yeah. Well if you're dead I think I should change your title, cause you can't be sitting here alive, now can you?

Ghost Isaac: But this isn't part of your sto.. … I don't want to be a ghost. -.- Anyway I am here to argue and point out the injustice of your story. First of all, I died, that isn't good. Second, that Dark Knight or whatever was definitely a Gary Blue. Er, Mary Sue. Uh wait, it was just referred to as 'it' the entire story… But um, you get the point.

Yeah and this is actually why I am letting Isaac talk because some readers might have the same accusations/questions/comments/flames/stuff. Folks, let me put this simply. THIS WAS MY DREAM. I didn't 'choose' any of this! Seriously, if I chose what my dream was like, Ivan and Jenna would have definitely been in there. If you're going to blame something, blame my subconscious mind.

Ghost Isaac: I blame your subconscious mind.

Furthermore, I actually wrote this story so that I could record my GS dream. (Yay GS dream!) It wasn't meant to actually grip the attention of other people, but I just figured I'd put it up for anyone interested.

Ghost Isaac: I blame your subconscious mind.

…

Ghost Isaac: I also blame Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance! 10 to 1 says the dream was inspired by that game.

Wrong Black Knight, Isaac. Wrong Black Knight. The Black Knight in that one had a few traces of red. This one didn't.

Ghost Isaac: …so.

Also there was music playing in my dream, it was a song from FF Tactics.

Ghost Isaac: Ah-hah! Golden Sun, Fire Emblem, and Final Fantasy combined. This dream proves that you are obsessed with video games.

Well I can't argue there. :D Anyway, enough of randomness…

Ghost Isaac: I am not 'random!'

Acknowledgements: Golden Sun is owned by Camelot and Nintendo. Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance is owned by Intelligent Systems and Nintendo. Final Fantasy Tactics is owned by Square Enix and Sony. Phew…

Ghost Isaac: That is what you get for naming games in notes.

((hits Isaac)) Quiet you.

Ghost Isaac: Nya ha I am a ghost, so you can't hurt me.

… Anyway. Special thanks to Serirod, Xanda, and Anunaki for listening to me spew my dream on aim. Also Serirod actually made half of this story's title. I asked him for title suggestions, he said maybe 'Fragile Footing' cause Isaac almost dies a lot. So I kept the 'Fragile' part and put 'Soul' at the end instead. Yay for Seri!


End file.
